IndieGOGO.com

September 19, 2011

a crowdfunding platform that was founded in 2008, has raised a $1.5 million funding round led by Metamorphic Ventures and Zynga cofounder Steve Schoettler.

As with other crowdfunding services, IndieGoGo allows its users to raise money for a multitude of campaigns that can encompass anything from 3D printers to root canals. Once a user has published a campaign to the site, they can distribute it via channels including Email, Twitter, and Facebook. The site also uses an algorithm, dubbed the ‘GoGoFactor’, that determines which campaigns are featured on the homepage and the site’s outreach (the more engaged your users are, the higher you rank).

IndieGogo makes money by taking a percentage of the money that’s contributed: if you create a campaign and meet your stated goal, then IndieGoGo charges 4%; if you don’t meet that goal, IndieGoGo charges a higher 9% fee, but you get to keep the remainder of the money. (IndieGoGo competitor Kickstarter, which has gotten a lot of attention in the press recently, takes a different approach — the campaign only gets the money if it reaches its stated goal).

IndieGoGo cofounder and CEO Slava Rubin says that the site has now been used to power 40,000 campaigns since it launched, and is distributing “millions of dollars each month to customers in over 200 countries”. The company plans to use the money to build out its product team and boost marketing and customer satisfaction — he says the San Francisco-based company plans to grow from four people to twenty five.